Ash-hopper construction



- Nov. 10,1925- "156L293 FLB. ALLEN' I ASH HOPPER CONSTRUCTION Filed March 21, 1921 2'Sheets-Sheei 1 Nov. 10, 1925.

F. B. ALLEN ASH HOPPER CONSTRUCTION Filed Marh 21, 1921 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Patented Nov.

ldhlli'liill ears-"r MESNE ASSIGNMEIITS, T0

ASH-HOPPER CONSTRUCTION.

.eppiieation filed March 21, 1921. Serial No. 454,322.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it 'knowirthat I, FRANK B. ALLEN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Cleveland. in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ash-Hopper Constructions; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, concise,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appcrtains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to hoppers and gates therefor together with'mechanism for operaf ing the doors of such gates.

Up to the present time, the operators of large power plants have been seriously at tccted bv detective ash controlling appa-v ratus. The larger the plant the more serious and aggravated have the troubles arising from this source of the plant becom'e.

Almost any mediocre means for handling the ash of a small plant will give reasonable satisfaction but as the size of the plant is increased, and with the coming of automatic stokers and forced drafts. the matter of handling the large volume of ash in a super-- heated condition as a result of the forced draft, together with the necessity of using water for cooling the ashes, the 'matter has become more and more serious and the deficiency of the old type of equipment has become more and more noted and accentuated. The problem that confronts the installer and manufacturer of this type oi? equipment is not only .a question of effectiveness in mechanism but likewise a ques tion of cost of construction, and up to the present time the solution of these two questions has not been obtained as it has in the present invention.

Until very recently, a boiler containing livethousand square feet of heating surface, for example, was called a 500 H. P. boiler. Today the same boiler is operated to produce 1000 to 1500 or even 2000 boiler H. P. To obtainthis result, resort has been had to force draft. The type of ashes produced under these circumstances is more difii'cult to handle than was formerly the case. This is r'urther aggravated by the increasing tendcncy to use coals of lower grade, and is further aggravated by the fact that whereas formerly the size of a boiler seldom exceeded 500 H. P. now they are practically always between 1400 and 2500 H.

The net. result of all of these new conditions, is that whereas formerly in a large installation, about 3 tons of clean, disintegrated ashes had to be removed from a single boiler daily, today from 20 to 50 tons of chnkered ash. highly heated, must be handled from each boiler. When it is further considered that in a-modern station there are provided "from ten to twenty such boilers, the difliculty of handling the ash becomes apparent..

In meeting these conditions and solving the problems created thereby, theinventor has produced the invention described herein, among the ob ects of wh ch are the following:

To provide a frame for per.

the gate which is directly attached to the steel ribs of the hopframe and door for collecting liquid passing through the hopper and conducting the same to a suitable drain thereby maintainin the floor beneath the gate and hopper sub stantially dry.

'To provide other details ofimprovement tending to increase the efliciency and service ability of devices of the above character.

, To accomplish the foregoing and other useful ends, my invention consists of means hereinafter inore fully set forth and claimed.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings in which I have illustrated a structure embodying my invention: Fig. 1 is atop plan view of a gate comprisirfj; a gate frame, door and supporting and operating means for a door for a single;

hopper opening.

1* 1g. 2 is a side view, partly in section,

taken on line 2-2 of Fig-1.

Fig. 3 is an end view, partly iii-section and partly in elevation, of the device shown in A Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view, below,

of two hoppers constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 5 is a. sectional view taken through .25 of Fig. 2.

the frame of Figs. 1 and 2 showing in section the wall 17 and the stationary trough Referring first to Fig. 4, 1 indicates as an entirety a hopper which may be employed with a coal burning furnace of the automatic Hopper 1 which is suspended from mem-' hers 2 is preferably composed of a plurality 'of spaced ribs 3 suspended from members 2 and carrying at their lower ends a gate frame 4. The upright walls of the and to opening 10.

hopper are formed by metal plates 5 secured to the inner side of ribs 3, as by bolts or otherwise. Flanges 6 integral with plates 5, serve to support in part the refractory lining members 7. 8 designates the opening at the top of the hopper through which ashes from the furnace may be discharged into the hopper.

The bottom Wall of hopper 1 is formed by a gate frame 45 suspended from framework 2 by ribs 3 as described, and having an enlargcd substantially rectangular centrally arranged opening 10 therethrough, and a door 11 movably mounted on the frame 4 to close opening 10. Supporting means in the form of parallel rails 12, which form a track for the wheels 13 of door 11, permit the door to be moved relative to the frame Material held in the hopper when door 11 is in closed position with respect to opening 10 may be discharged through this opening when the door is suitably moved.

To the bottom of-door 11 is attached a bracket 14 which carries a connecting rod 15 operating in a cylinder 16 and having a piston (not shown) connected thereto wit in the cylinder. Movement of the piston serves to move the door 11 into open or closed position with respect to the opening 10 and frame 4.

In this figure cylinder 16 is located between the adjacent hoppers 1 and suspend ed below rails 12. It is provided with two pistons (not shown),- to' actuate the adjacent doors of these hoppers.

It will be seen that my improved ho per construction may be considered as a s ele ton structure since it comprises the overhead supporting members 2, the spaced ribs 3, the gate frame 4, with the Wall plates secured to the ribs and the door movably mounted in the frame.

Referring now to Figs. 1,2 and 3 where I have shown a slightly modified form of door actuating mechanism and certain elements additional to the door as shown. in Fig. 4, the gate frame 1 18 formed with a menace depending flange 17 at one end and 18 spaced vertically beneath the opposite sides 19 of member 4 but connected thereto at intervals by spaced ties 20, all. of which is clearly shown in Figs. 2, 3 and l.

21 indicates parallel. members secured-at one end to'the frame 4: and suitably supported at the opposite ends to serve as rails comprising a track for the wheels of a door 11.

Cross members 22 unite the rails 21 at some distance from the frame 4 and carry a cylinder 23 provided with a piston (not shown) to which is attached a connccting rod 24, this rod being attached at its opposite end to door 11. Fluid pressure means may be suitably connected to cylinder '23 to operate the piston back and forth therein, these means however not being shown herein.

Door 11 which. is adapted to close the opening 10 through frame 4 is provided with wheels 13 arranged to run on rails 21 when the door is being opened with respect to this opening, certain of the wheels being arranged to run on the walls 18 of member 4 as will be evident by reference to F igs. l and 2.

In the actual operation of furnaces oi the i type described herein ashes in the hopper are often sprayed with water or other cool- 7 ing liquid to cool the same, and any water in excess of the amount which will be absorbed by the ashes flows to the bottom of the hopper and leaks out around the door unless special provision is made for collectmg it. 'Means for collecting such water 15 I secure communicating side watertroughs 27 and end trough 28. the troughs being preferably suspended along the periphery ofthe door, so that water running over the edge thereof will flow down into the troughs and empty at the front end of the door into trough 25. Flanges 29, which depend from the walls 19 of the frames t along the sides of and close to openings 10, serve as battles to deflect liquid passing over the top of the door with some velocity, the liquid being defiectcd thereby into the underlying troughs 27.

Figs. 2 and 3 indicate clearly the construction and location of troughs 27 and 28 and the means for attaching themto the door. The forward ends of the side troughs 27 along the longitudinal sides of the door 1 are extended sufiiciently so that when the door s n closed position with respect to 'openings 01" frame at the ends of, the

troughs 2? will project over the trough 25 so that liquid will be discharged therefrom into trough 25.

Having thus described my invention, as embodied in one form of practical device, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is defined in the claims, itbeing understood that various changes not involving invention which may occur to those skilled in the art may be made without departing from-the spirit and the scope. of my in-' vention.

\Vhat' I claim is 1'. A receptacle for connninuted materials having a discharge outlet and a movable closure therefor, means for receiving the liquid draining from 'the receptacle when, said outlet is closed, andmeans connecting the closure and liquid receiving means for moving the liquid receiving means when the closure 18 moved.

A receptacle -lor comminuted materials having a (lischarge outlet and a closure therei'or, a trough disposed to receive liquid ,and eonuniuuted material passing through the-outlet when the closure is in closed position, and means connecting the closure and;

the trough for moving the trough out of liquid and comminuted material receiving position when the closure is opened.

3. A (101. for a' hopper having a bottom opening. provided with liquid collecting and discharging means along one side thereof.

i. A door torn hopper having a bottom opening. provided with liquid eol-lecting and discharging: troughs below and along a plurality of sides thereof.

5. A gate for a hopper having a bottom opening. comprising a door having liquid collecting and dischar ing troughs alon a.

M l" l. l, b

,opening, a water collecting trough suspended from the said door, a stationary trough adapted to receive water from the trough in the ,doorpwhen the door is in ing a dischargegopemng', comprising a horizontally movable closure ferti e said opening, a stationary liquid receiving trough, and a wall disposed diacent to the trough and extending above and below the top of the said closure, the said wall being adapted to intercept liquid passing from the top of the closure when the latter is in closed position. and todelleetjsuch liquid into the said stationary trough. i i

9. A horizontall movable door, for a hopper having a bottom opening, provided with-means for collecting liquid passing through the said opening and discharging the same at one end of the door.

10. A combination of a hopper provided with a bottom discharge opening; a gate under the hopperymeans for moving the gate into and out of closed position; and gutters on the gate for carrying away the water escaping from the material in the hopper.

11.. A receptacle for comminuted mat erials having a discharge outlet and a movable closure therefor, amovable trough capable of n'ioven'ient into and out of position to receive liquid passing through the said outlet, and means connecting the trough andclosure for moving the trough into position to receive liquid passing through the said outlet when the closure is closed.

12. A gate construction 'for an ashhopper having a bottom opening, comprising a stationary member surrounding said opening and having downwardly extending portions, a door mounted for movement into open and closed position in respect to said opening, said door being adapted to cooperate with said stationary member when in closed position to substantially prevent the escape of ashes between thedoor and stationary member. said door having means for collecting liquid and discharging the same at one end. said means including upardly extending portions 7 on the door which extend above the bottom of said downwardly extending portions.

13. A gate construction for a hopper having a bottomopening. comprising a stationary. member adapted to surround the said opening. a door for the said opening, and means for collecting liquid discharged be tween the said stationary member and door comprising 'a downwardly extending wall on the station ry member, an upwardly extending wall on the door in telescoping re-- 'lation therewith, and a trough on the doorin fluid-receiving position with respect to the said downwardly and upwardly extend- -1ng walls.

opening, a door for the said opening, and

lfieans for collecting liquid discharged be, tween the said stationary member and door e stationary member an npwa'r 1y extending wall on the door in telescoping refl lation therewith, a trough on the door in 5 fluid-receiving position with respect to the:

downwardly and; upwardly extending and a,stationa1 'y trough adapted to receive liquid discharged from the 1 door when same isin closed position with respect to the said opening. 1

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name this 17th day of March,

FRANK B. ALLEN. 

